A Facebook group to share and learn woodworking. Come and join now.

Blog DIY Woodworking Facebook

Would it not be great to have a forum to share all your DIY projects ? Don’t you agree that a group of like- minded individuals getting together to exchange ideas, provide feedback, offer tips and discuss a particular niche is always a healthy way to grow the niche within that community and beyond? Would it not be great that you had someone, anyone to provide you the way forward when you are stuck in the middle of a project? Don’t you agree that having an open environment to have your DIY queries addressed by other enthusiasts can help enhance your interest and skills in the hobby? 

DIY Woodworking - India

From all the "Would it not be great" and "Don't you agree" questions stemmed the idea of creating a Facebook group - A group focused on DIY woodworking more specifically limited to Indian geography.  I created the DIY Woodworking – India group way back in 2013, but never got the opportunity to work on adding more interested members into it. With increasing number of folks taking up Woodworking as a hobby, I wanted to extend an invitation to all of you who are reading this to join the group.

A Facebook Group to share your woodworking outcomes and hone your skills

• If you think DIY Woodworking is your forte, JOIN NOW
• If you even have the faintest of interest in taking it up as a hobby, JOIN NOW
• If you have completed a DIY project and you are looking at like-minded people to share it with, JOIN NOW
• If you are in the middle of a project, and not sure how to proceed, JOIN NOW

I want to bring in relevant interested folks into the group to keep it focused. And that is why I want you to click join, because no one better than you would know if you are relevant to this group.  Once in, be sure to invite your friends and families who would love to come out of their comfort zones and try some bit of woodworking. And for you to understand more, here’s some FAQ on the group :

Some FAQs

Why a group when you have your Facebook page ?

To reiterate, the page is becoming more about me. A group makes it easier for others to join the fun. From one to one on a page, it becomes one to many and many to many which makes it more meaningful.

There are other woodworking forums, then why this?

I want to bring the Woodooz community together. In that sense, I feel this will be a more concentrated group and not a redundant one.

Why DIY Woodworking – India ?

There is enough information available about Woodworking elsewhere. Idea is to bring together folks who can help with local terms, tools, methods and jargons.

There are hardly any people in the group. Why join?

This is the first time am talking about this group, and I hope there would be more enthusiastic people joining in due course. Now, without thinking, you JOIN.

I see no conversation happening in the group. Why join?

We are laying the foundation. The dialogues would soon happen. Trust me.

So go ahead, join. Add your friends. Discuss. Ask. Take help. Learn. Share.

Why wait for a Carpenter ? Be your own handyman

Blog DIY Woodworking home repair

A professionally built modular kitchen. Equally good wardrobes, crockery shelf and TV units. Not much can go wrong right ? True. Because, even after 8 years, all the woodworking we had invested in was intact and functioning immaculately. But not that Sunday afternoon.

My Sunday Afternoons

My Sundays are quite the routine that I thoroughly enjoy. Particularly the afternoons. I get to eat my favorite vathakozhambu for lunch, watch a bit of whatever Tamil movie I can lay my hands on and then have a long siesta. Sometimes long enough to even miss the beautiful sunset from my balcony. It is a habit that I relish. Maybe I believed it helped me with the maddening week that lay ahead. Maybe it helped shake the dreadful blues of the Sunday evening (Worse than a Monday morning I say). May be. May be not. But I look forward to that movie and that naaaaaaap. So anything out of the way can really spoil the pleasure for me.

That afternoon Preethi was working on a painting project and she asked me to get her kit from the draw. I opened the draw to claim the palette, oil paints and the linseed oil. I handed over the art gear and shut the draw close. That's when it happened. As I closed it, the handle with the draw face fell down from the draw (Factory made and made by professionals) exposing 4 wicked nails. Since I was getting ready for my nap, I put the fallen piece of wood away to be dealt with later, only to be told, “There are sharp nails jutting out of the draw. You better fix it NOW”.

Related reading: Start your own woodworking hobby with this simple recipe

Can you see a smiling face with two wicked eyes ? :)

Anything can go wrong

Well, this is only one example. We have had the bed room door knobs not working. The balcony door stopper not being effective. Even the pulley type clothes hanger becoming completely unusable. Point is, anything can go wrong any time. Each of these small issues has its own merit in increasing the discomfort levels one way or the other. Based on the degree of inconvenience, they will need anywhere from immediate to gradual / delayed attention. That Sunday afternoon incident needed immediate attention because of the exposed nails that were kid unsafe.  

I have spoken about the intrinsic benefits of DIY woodworking many times and it wouldn’t hurt to reiterate it. How many times did you have to endlessly wait for a carpenter to come over and repair a problem? How many times did you have to throw a broken something and get a new replacement for it? Everything has a life and everything will show its true color after due wear and tear. There is nothing really as permanence and even durability wanes with time and use.

Moral of the story

My Sunday afternoon could be yours someday. You will have a pressing need to immediately patch up / refurbish a defective / broken something.   And when that someday comes, why wait for that elusive carpenter.Be your own handyman. Learn to fix it yourself. And yeah, you will not repent it.

The supposedly permanent fix - I used extra screws 

• P.S.1 : I ended up watching a Danush movie that afternoon. 
• P.S.2 : I had the audacity to ignore the "FIX IT NOW!" command and went ahead with my zzzzzing. We managed with an interim solution for couple of days before I provided it with the non-existent permanent fix.

The one key thing that my earlier project lacked and the lessons learnt

Blog DIY Woodworking How tos

It took me more than 8 months to make the display case project. Not just because of other things that kept me busy, but also because of my own faults. I still remember how many times I changed the plan either because I did not like the output, or because I did not have the required tools, or plainly because I had messed it up. Most of this tremendously increased my trips to the plywood store. Something as simple as buying a white sheet of laminate only to come back home and realize I have been using oft-white all along. Some of these mistakes added to cost, and the rest of it added to the time and effort involved. By the end of it, all I could muster was a heavy sigh of relief. 

So here I am documenting the lessons from this project just so I keep coming back to this before I start all my newer projects.

Before and after - Display unit built entirely with plywood

Working with laminates

• I should have decided to use a laminate for the outer surface of the shelf. I first decided to stain directly on the plywood. Somehow it did not appeal to me, and so I decided to add a layer of OST and then stain. Somehow, that did not seem appealing and I finally ended up using a laminate.  Effect : Loads of wasted time and effort. I could have saved more than 10 days had I decided to directly go with laminate on plywood top.

Wrong choice of finishing resulting in waste of time and effort

• I should have decided to use a laminate for the insides of the shelf. I first attempted priming the base and then applying white paint. Total failure. Then I shifted to multiple layers of Gesso and white acrylic paint. Effect : Awesome outcome despite the wasted time and effort.  But then when I started applying varnish, the whole output collapsed. Finally, went with oft-white laminate which worked in my favor. I could have easily spent about 15-20 days adding layers and layers of primer and waiting for it to dry.

• I should have stuck the oft-laminate first before fixing the sides of the shelf. The shelf was built and then the laminate was stuck. The first time I tried to stick the laminate to the inside back of the shelf, the measurement was slightly off track and when I tried to remove the laminate, it cracked. AIYO !

Laminates can crack easily. I learnt it the difficult way

• I should have known what laminate I was using. Despite the plywood vendor telling me that I bought only oft-white the previous day, I insisted he give me white laminate as a replacement to the broken one. I came home and realized he was right. PHEW !

Finally the wooden shelf was built to my satisfaction and it was now time to fix the glass shelf and the glass doors. YAY !

Working with glass

• I should have known that the glass door will rub with the glass shelf if the shelf depth was not correct. Much to my dismay, I noticed it after all the installment was done. I had to take the glass sheet to the store to cut the edges off to ensure smooth opening and closing of the door. URGH !

• I should have known the glass is fragile and is likely to break when something falls on it.I was installing the door and the hinge on top slipped and fell on the shelf chipping a piece of it. Another visit to the store to shorten the depth to remove the crack. WHEW !

Chipped off glass and the rounded corner - Something to think of next time

Working with LEDs

• Finally, I bought a good looking LED focus light for the shelf. I should have known that I did not have the tools to drill a hole that big and that the drill bit was very expensive. I decided to tone down the size of the focus light (now a single LED), just so I can complete the task. Major BULB !

Working with LED lights - Choose those for which you have the tools

In a nutshell - Plan, plan and plan

If you re-look at each of the points all of it point towards lack of planning which was a result of either lack of knowledge or blatant oversight from my side. While the lapses did add to cost, they have also given me a better understanding of the aspects to take care of in the future. Have to plan so that no time, material, effort or money is wasted. I am sure I will still get some of the things wrong the next time too, but with experience I will reduce the number of these mistakes. And the goal is to eventually master the art of planning before commencing projects. This post is a reminder that I should consciously work towards that. Do wish me luck and let me know if you have had your own time / effort wasting tactics in doing a project.

The story of how Shahjahan ruined my step by step tutorial

Blog Display shelf DIY Woodworking

We bought a DSLR camera back in 2014 to capture better pictures of our DIYs. And when I was working on this particular project, I started taking  a step by step video of the procedure involved. All heavy duty video files. Maybe about 90 minutes of content which was to be edited later. But this was just before we went on a vacation… to a destination with possibly the most romantic symbol ever - Agra. As I stood there in front of the Taj Mahal, trying to get the best angle to capture its beauty, my camera displayed a very very disturbing warning message - “MEMORY FULL”.  8GB and all consumed by my video files.

Down and dejected, I had to choose between what Shah Jahan built and what I was building. With a heavy heart, I chose the former and deleted one file. After about 2 hours, another file disappeared. At the Agra fort, few more went kaput. And by the time we reached Fatehpur Sikri, almost all the files had to be deleted.  This was in Jan 2015, and I was glad I came back with loads of memories, until today when I sat down to write this post. 

The Taj Mahal

The Requirement

My cousin wanted me to make a display case to showcase some (there is lots of them, but he gave me a select few) of the honors and awards his father (My Periappa) had garnered over his very illustrious academic career. He gave me four framed felicitation certificates that he wanted to exhibit in the living room. I took the measurements, came back home and started the project on January 4. And delivered it yesterday after working on it for a short span of 8 months. That should speak a lot about my speed.

DIY Display Case

Show Case

The Design

There was not much in the design. Just a box, with a glass shelf, glass doors, and a focus light. I had to match the color of the shelf with the existing furniture shades and after so many trial and error, decided to go with laminate. The background needed to be white, and used laminates for that too. What took me lot of time was the laminates. The learnings from this project is a post by itself and I shall talk about it sometime soon.

With all the awards and honors

The Challenge

The focus light was a challenge. I bought a nice big light, and realized the drill bit to cut the required hole costed a bomb. And so I toned it down a bit and went for a small light with just one LED. I used stain for the edges and then covered it up with Mod Podge. The entire project was built with 19mm plywood, and 5 mm glass and so it ended up being pretty heavy.

LED Focus light

That satisfying feeling

Yesterday was the delivery. And it was such a pleasure to see my uncle get so excited about the display shelf project. All his accolades came out from inside rooms and went into the display case. In his late 80s now, it is amazing how much he wanted to understand the details of how the shelf was built. And I cannot explain how generous he was in appreciating the effort. I walked out mighty happy. Moments like these make my day and make Woodooz a really worthwhile effort.

Do it yourself project

With whatever pictures and videos I could save, I shall put up a step by step procedure soon. I also wanted to share some learnings, that had I known, could have saved me days of wasted time. And sometime later, I will also do a video tutorial on how to install a under the cabinet light. Until then, let me know what you think of this display case. Would love to know all your thoughts.

Beautiful hand painted DIY Wall Clock - By Varsha

Blog Painting showcase Wall clock

I have always worked independently on all my projects. Of course, Preethi lends a helping hand, and that’s that. For once, I had a request from my very friendly neighbor(s) if I could help her with a wall clock. Surprisingly, it was the power of Google and my Wall Clock DIY tutorial that led them to me despite meeting and chatting up on a regular basis for the last 6 odd years. And I happily took up the opportunity.

A little background about Varsha. She is a fine arts student and needed to do this as part of one of her final year projects. To make a painting was the need, and the choice of the base was left to the students. She chose to showcase her painting on a clock. 

Beautiful hand painted DIY Wall Clock - By Varsha Sowmyanarayan

My role was to help her make the clock and so we started the project one Sunday evening. I chose to make it with wooden sticks for the frame and OST for the base much like all my other clock projects. It took us less than about couple of hours to get the clock base done. Most of these two hours were spent in waiting for the glue to dry. Once done, it was all left to Varsha to splash it with her creativity. The clock went with her to her home and so Preethi and I were left to wonder what the outcome was going to be like. We had no clue whatsoever, and so that added to the excitement. We didn’t have to wait for more than a day to see what she had done with the clock.

Clock base using OST and wooden sticks

Wall Clock rear side

These pictures were shared with me later. We only got to see the final product and trust me, we were so excited. My clocks mostly had printed images or wooden stain, and so you can understand the delight to see a wonderful painting.  Part of the excitement was about the options that acrylics on a wooden surface opened up for us. Guess, it was time we also gave up on wood paints and stains for a while.

Textured acrylic primer 

Base coat and outlining

More detailing using permanent marker

That she had the clock mechanism with her saved us much time. The clock hands were so beautiful and went so well with the theme of the painting. The usual black / gold ones that I used for my clocks looked more like a drab now.

DIY Wall Clock

It turned out to be a really beautiful clock. If you guys ever get a chance to cross the Stella Marys premises in Cathedral Road, look for the wall paintings outside the college premises. Varsha and her friends did that. This clock painting is only a tip of the ice berg. You will have to see her sketches, and caricatures, and water colors to truly understand the bundle of talent that she is. If you are a keen follower of art, you are sure to discover that later and from a different source.

Finished Wall clock - Now fully functional

For now, am working on a lampshade and it is for another neighbor of mine. This is more like a workshop and we do hourly sessions based on mutual time conveniences. It is still work in progress and I will come back to talk about that too soon.

Somu Padmanabhan

Of failed projects - SOS ! I need your help

Blog bottle art Bottle craft Wine bottle art

• A laid back evening. There is a bottle of whisky. It’s just the right evening. I sat on the balcony and had it on the rocks. Bliss.
• An occasion. Dinner with red wine at home. Could I ask for anything more. Indulged.
• A friend was staying over. Hot summer in Chennai. What better way to entertain and host my guest than with a chilled bottle of beer. It was perfect.

The truth is, am being only 33.33% honest because the other 66.66% is purely my imagination. But that is besides the point. Now, what do I do with all these empty bottles. Earlier we did a madubani decoupage on a wine bottle which still is on our bedroom side table. This time, I wanted to be a little bold and venture into something I have not tried. And so started the bottle cutting experiment.

Collection of bottles

I was not sure what I wanted to make. Maybe a candle holder. Maybe a lampshade. I wanted to worry about what I wanted to make after I master the art of cutting bottles. After watching loads and loads of Youtube videos, I narrowed down three ways to cut bottles at home (You can just do a Google / Youtube search to find the many ways of cutting bottles at home).

Candle holders made with beer bottle

1. Tie a nail polish soaked thread around the bottle, light it and dunk it in cold water. Didn’t work at all.
2. Score a line around the point where the bottle needs to be cut. Heat with a candle at the scored line. Chill it with a piece of ice cube. Repeat the procedure until bottle cracks at the scoring point. Worked. But, in an absolutely haphazard way. 
3. Pour boiling water along the score. Chill with a piece of ice cube. Repeat until bottle cracks. Worked. But then, definitely not uniform and along the line.

The below picture is self explanatory. All of them have gone into the bin after this photo was taken. Two of them in fact broke.

Badly cut bottles. Guess I need some expert advise here.

Am almost at a point of giving up. I have tried cutting about 8 bottles so far. All miserable attempts. And I stopped midway cutting my last bottle because it was taking too much time. Now am wondering if there is someone who is reading this who can help me out. Have you cut bottles before ? Do you have any tips for me ? I promise I will do something amazing with the cut bottles. But for that, you have to teach me how I can cut them. Anyone ? This is my SOS call before I drown in the sea of giving up my bottle experiment.

Thanks.

Buying plywood and cutting it - Reader query (Part 1)

Blog FAQ Reader query

While I normally direct any generic questions on how one can start basic woodworking to my 17 point recipe, I also get very specific questions which I respond to. Considering some of these questions are to the point and can be of use to others looking for similar answers, I thought it is best to document these questions-answers in the blog as part of reader queries series. As first post on this series, here’s my e-mail interaction (Part 1) sometime last week with Sai.

Taking cues from your website, I had planned to make a small table for my pooja room (This is my first task, and I have big plans once am successful with it). Since I had never done any drawing am not able to put my things on paper. My design is simple - Size of table top - 1 1/2 x 2 feet, and height of the table 1 feet. (In future, am planning to have some draws placed to this table, so is the height acceptable or do I need to increase it a bit more?). Now, guide me in moving forward in doing this job. - Sai.

Plywood : when I checked at the shop next to my place, he has asked me to take the whole sheet of 18 mm thickness of 6x4 size.  Do, I need to pick the whole sheet?  I clearly know that it's waste for now, but can be used for my next task.

My response : I normally buy plywood as per my requirement. Luckily I found someone who was more than willing to part with the smaller planks of wood that he had. The only challenge I have with buying the entire sheet is storage and transportation. And not knowing what my next project is can mean I may not be able to find use for the additional plank immediately.  Normally, vendors push the entire sheet as it makes more business sense for them. However, if you can find someone who can give you sheets based on need, nothing like it.

Note : Besides my car boot, I also store all my unused plywood in my service area, balcony and even the underside of the cot. While I think I will have ample use for these pieces of wood, I have not been able to put them to functional use because of lack of requirements - A major reason why I prefer buying based on need.

Unused plywood stacked in the boot of my car

Cutting : Can I myself cut the sheet with saw that we get in the market or do I need to get it done outside?

My response : You can. However, that just means you need to have a circular saw or a jig saw. If it is 12mm plywood sheets, you can cut it using the hand saw, but that by itself is an effort. Ask if your plywood supplier can do it himself for an additional sum. I get it done through the plywood vendor. Owning the tool is a challenge for me because of space constraints. I live in the 4th floor of an apartment, and so it poses noise issues for those below.

Note : Since not having a tool should never be an impediment to begin a hobby, I always recommend that some of the tasks are outsourced. The key is to get going with the project, learn and acquire skills as you move on with it. 

I added the notes as an after thought and it was not part of mail response. Sai had more queries related to tools, fixing the table legs and finishing the table top which I shall update in the Part 2 of this post. Meanwhile, if you have queries that you want clarified, shoot me a mail (somu@woodooz.com). While I shall happily help you with what I know, I will also respectfully tell you if there is something I cannot help you with because of lack of information. 

Recycle project - From unwanted glass doors to functional shelves

Blog recycle idea

Not much is really happening with DIY or woodworking. Too many things have happened, life has taken a 180 degree turn and all in the positive direction. As cliched as it may sound, sometimes we wish a day had more than 24 hours. The project that I last started is in its almost complete state for more than 3 months now. It is only the last mile that I need to complete and yet, it remains unfinished. My hands itch at times hoping that I get to do something, however small it might be.

Anyway. Remember the glass door that we installed for our TV unit. There was a major draw back to it that I never foresaw. Because it was not a see through glass (partial see through), I had to keep the door open every time I had to use the remote. While we put up with this for a long time, we decided to do away with the translucent glass door and replace it with clear glass.

Recycling project 

One glitch though.  What do we do with the already existing partial see through glasses. It would really break my heart to just throw them away after having spent some bucks on them. And just when this thought was running through my mind, a situation presented itself that gave me just the right opportunity to reuse these glass doors. And voila ! Without having to spend a single penny (except of course for the hinges which cost about 40 a pair) we had the glass doors converted into bathroom accessory stands / shelves.

Recycled glass - Serving as a bathroom accessory stand

The smaller glasses were just perfect and didn’t require any cut. The bigger ones were cut into 4 quarter circles and used as corner stands. All I did was I gave the directions to my plywood vendor and he had them all cut for me. He also smoothened the edges. I needed 12 hinges to have them installed on the wall and had the electrician install the once-a-door-now-a-shelf for me (While I normally do my installations, I have never tried drilling into a bathroom tile. I am also scared that I might puncture the concealed pipes. So just this, I leave it to the professionals).

Please ignore the not so perfect quarter circles

Corner shelves recycled from glass door

End of the day, it made two happy owners and possibly two happy tenants too.

Everyone is asking, Have you lost interest in Woodooz ? Have we ?

Blog general hobby

I have to accept. 2014 was not a great year for Woodooz in terms of the number of posts and projects. Compared to the previous year, the count is paltry – A mere 18. Not even two posts a month and the blog has been dormant, if not dead, for the last 3 months.  And this is making many ask me, “Are you done with it? Have you lost interest? Is this not a sustainable hobby? “.

A 2014 project - Side Table

Before I answer that question, I wanted to look back at 2014. Despite few posts, we had some interesting things happening at Woodooz:

• First was the coverage in Smartlife Magazine. This gave us a big motivational boost.
• Second was my visit to the Bosch DIY Square in Bangalore. Woodworking is fun and to experience it in a proper studio kind of environment was very exciting for me.
• Third was meeting up with a fellow woodworker. It was an evening well spent talking about not just carpentry, but also about life in general.
• And lastly, a lovely vacation to end the year. To be lazy and do absolutely nothing was the objective of the holiday and Kumarakom ended up being the perfect destination for it.

 At the banks of Kumarakom Vembanad lake

All good things ? Yet there was a dearth of posts. Why ? Have I lost interest ? Has the passion died ?

The truth is, there have been too many activities in the last 3 months that have been taking my attention. Activities that I have started to enjoy and pursue as parallel hobbies that I ended up giving very little time to Woodworking.

Cricket

To start with, I have taken to Cricket every Saturday morning. Not the professional sport types, but the tennis ball kinds that you play with friends. This I took up to introduce physical activity into my schedule to stay more fit and active. Much like every Indian, I love playing Cricket and now this takes up good 4 hours of my every Saturday.

Lots of action in the cricket ground

Photography

We recently bought a DSLR with absolutely no knowledge on using one. The prime reason was to start taking better pictures of our Woodooz projects. But then, what happened ? As I started exploring the camera and the basics around using it, I was involuntarily drawn into photography. A sudden surge that prompted me to go click click and click. The result – I have been spending way too much time in getting my techniques right. I love this so much that we have even started going bird watching to explore photography more.

Butterfly - Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Row of Park Benches

Spot Billed Pelican - At Pallikarnai Marsh Land

Reading

And finally reading. A collection of books that is supposedly epic novels written in my native language Tamil. I started reading the first in the series and realized how much I have been giving my mother tongue a step motherly treatment. These books written by Kalki Krishnamurthy are beautifully written novels that use fiction around real historical characters and events. What this did was not only unearth my interest in my language, but also in history. These books about the pallavas, and cholas are among the best that I have read in a long long time. And so, you can imagine. I still have another 5 parts to complete and I intend to be glued onto them.

Kalki's Ponniyin Selva collection

All said, what happens to Woodworking ? Had a little positive distraction in 2014 that made us give divided attention to Woodooz. However, we are resolute now to find all possible excuses to create newer projects that will keep us and Woodooz engaged throughout 2015. Which in turn only translates into providing you with quality updates, how tos, FAQs and other project updates at frequent intervals.

On that positive and forward looking note, we want to wrap up our 2014. We don't know what is in store for us in 2015. But the year that went by has certainly been enjoyable and exciting.

Wish you and your family a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Meet Indranil Banerjie - The man behind the blog IndianDIY

Blog DIY Woodworking Indranil Banerjie interview

While the purpose of a blog may be to showcase ones own work, there is also the intent to encourage others to take up the idea being promoted. More and more blogs on a particular niche is a sure sign that the idea is catching up. Woodworking in India is one concept that is not widely popular. And so it is a tremendous boost when a blog like IndianDIY is doing its bit to ease the concept to hesitant, yet interested Indian hobbyists. Meet Indranil Banerjie, the man behind IndianDIY who is an ardent Woodworking hobbyist from Noida.

I was prompted to write this feature after my interesting meet with him in Bangalore. He said, “I have learnt so much from the Internet. And it is time I give back without expecting anything in return”. His blog is all about giving back to the DIY community. Read on and know more about him. Over to Indranil.

Indranil Banerjie of IndianDIY.blogspot.com

An introduction

I took to woodworking four years ago after my 51st birthday! After working hard all my life on a desk, I wanted to do something creative with my hands, something physical that I could hold and feel. Woodworking interested me, but I never had the time or the money to pursue it . At 51, I had the time and a little money to seriously consider it. 

We had settled down in a sleepy suburb 35 km from Delhi and there was nothing much to do. There were hardly a couple of restaurants, one movie hall that showed only Hindi movies and no coffee shops either. I began in a small way wondering if I would ever be good at it or make something worthwhile. Today, I am at an intermediate stage and have not looked backed ever since.

Teak Wood Book Shelf

 How did you discover your passion for woodworking ?

Beautiful things always fascinated me. I liked the elegance of fine furniture and in my extensive travels all over the world came to admire wooden objects as much as object 'd art. Like in all crafts, there is something of the creator that gets imprinted forever in the object. Perhaps my pathetic quest for immortality :)

Kitchen Wall Cabinet

Why is age, sex or location a barrier (or not a barrier) for hobby woodworking in India ?

Like the marriage ads that say age, sex or caste no bar, I feel all good enterprises in life are indissoluble. A beautiful woman is so regardless of age, caste or geography. The call to arts and crafts is similarly exalted.

I want to get into DIY Woodworking. But I don't know where to start. Your advice ?

I found the greatest difficulty was to actually do something instead of just thinking about it. The fear of failure is always high and the only cure is to plunge in. Make something, no matter what others might think and the days will not be far when you will feel fulfilled. That is the road to excellence.

Indranil with his dovetails

Is the required platform / Tools available in India for someone to pursue DIY home repairs and carpentry ?

Yes, everything is available. You have to search and adjust your capabilities and acquisitions according to your pocket. Power tools are not necessary but nice if you have the money. Hand tools on the other hand are relatively cheap and will last a lifetime.

Quality can be a problem at times but good suppliers can be located with a little help.

Your favorite project so far ?

Inlaid dovetail box.

Dovetailed Wooden Chest / Box

And lastly, what have been your 3 big challenges in this journey of yours ?

• The weather - North India is horrendous for 6 months of the year and I can barely pursue my hobby during that period.
• Time - there is so little each day.
• Bringing myself to the cut - I always hesitate and procrastinate. I wish I could be more resolute and actually cut the wood without thinking on and on whether I will make a mistake.

Beer and biriyani

There is so much to ask. Yet, will stop here hoping this little interview leaves you with wanting to know more about Indranil's wonderful blog and his woodworking adventures. He is celebrating completion of 100 posts on his blog and has an exciting giveaway for you. Do take a moment to check his contest announcement and participate. I am yet to send in my entries and have already laid my eyes on the two books he is giving away. Meanwhile, do leave me a comment if this feature impels you to take up Woodworking as a hobby.

P.S. All photos are owned by Indranil. Kindly do not use these photos without express consent from the owner.

Assembling your DIY Navaratri steps [Step 3] - A video post

Blog DIY Woodworking Golu padi Golu padi series Golu steps video

This is the final post in the golu padi series. This one will be about the assembly of the golu steps. Do ensure you check out the two earlier posts. I am a bit relieved that we don't have to go in search of bricks, card boards, or left over planks to build the steps like we did the last two years.

Before you read the rest of the post, do spend some time to understand what a pilot hole is and what is a cross dowel. These two concepts are essential to get a better grip of the post / video.

Since the video is a little elaborate, I will write only a bit about what needs to be done with pictures.

Check Out ! Complete guide to build your own Golu steps

• [Step 1] Golu Padi Design (Built using Google sketchup)
• [Step 2] Materials required and cost involved
• [Step 3] The actual assembly of the steps [Video Post]

Disclaimer : Materials used and measurements depicted are suited for the collection of dolls we have. Kindly assess your collection and accordingly choose 12mm / 19 mm ply for your steps.

The Golu Padi - Final look

Step 1

Join the vertical teak wood support with the horizontal strip of wood. Drive pilot holes and use the nuts and bolts to tighten the wooden pieces.

Do this on both sides of the plywood strip to get the basic support structure in place. (Watch video to know how this is done)

Vertical supports joined at the bottom using a horizontal wooden strip

Step 2

Join the side risers with the vertical teak wood support. Make sure the top rear of the side step is aligned with the wall, and the bottom is parallel and placed on the floor. This is critical to get the required stability. Again, use pilot holes, nuts and bolts. (Watch video to know how this is done)

Side riser joined to the vertical support

Attach the other side riser to the other side of the support structure. Notice how the side steps are balanced without any further support?

Other side riser attached to the 2nd vertical stem

Step 3

With side risers in place, start joining the steps (padis) to the sides. You can screw the step planks to the side steps, but then, it would make assembling and dismantling on a regular basis a pain. To overcome this, use nuts and bolts the way cross dowels are used in the flat pack furniture industry (Watch video to know how this is done).

Start with the top step. Use two bolts on both sides of the planks.

Start adding the step planks - Top one added

Keep adding all the other steps in sequence. For the 2nd, 3rd and 4th padis, it is enough you use only one bolt on both sides.

For the bottom step, use two bolts on both sides. This will ensure the steps do not split at the bottom.

All the step planks joined with the side risers

Finally, evaluate your outcome. Think the steps are wobbly ? Check if the bolts are sufficiently tight. If required include an additional horizontal support connecting the two teak wood vertical stems on the top. And most important : If you know someone who would benefit from this post, do remember to share it. Just click on one of the share options at the end of this post :)

Happy Navaratri